| March 09, 2023 | "Irreverent, but never irrelevant" | | |  | John Lothian
Publisher
John Lothian News | |
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Hits & Takes
John Lothian & JLN Staff
This morning the NYSE has an Inside the ICE House podcast featuring CME Group's Terry Duffy. I have written a story about the podcast, which is terrific, perhaps the best interview I have ever heard Duffy give. He was forthcoming, outgoing and in the sweet spot of his life's experiences in the 75-minute interview conducted by the talented ICE communications professional Josh King.
Also this week, the NYSE celebrated an 'American Century': the 100th Anniversary of the first issue of TIME Magazine, published on March 2, 1923. Like Josh King, I grew up reading TIME and always loved the magazine. After I started the John Lothian Newsletter, I appreciated the parallels between the goals of TIME Founders Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, who were aggregating the news from over a dozen newspapers in New York. The aggregation saved the reader TIME, just as the readers of JLN are saved time as they skim over stories or do a deep dive. They save time knowing we have done an exhaustive search for them for the stories they want to read.
Eris Innovations yesterday announced a strategic investment round to capitalize on new margin treatment. On February 17, Eris SOFR Swap futures products became eligible for portfolio margining with interest rate swaps cleared by the CME Group.
According to a Crain's Chicago Business story, big bucks from local Chicago businessmen are flowing into the mayoral campaign of Paul Vallas, including from DRW's Don Wilson and Kenneth Brody.
The CFTC announced that a Federal court ordered a consent order on March 7 imposing monetary sanctions of nearly $3 million and injunctive relief against Introducing Broker Coquest Inc. and its owners Dennis Weinmann and John Vassallo, and affiliated trading firms Buttonwood LLC and Weva Properties Ltd., all of Dallas, Texas. Vassallo is a former longtime board member of the National Futures Association representing Introducing Brokers.
Jeffrey Maron is starting a new position as managing director at 7RIDGE.
Jamie Farmer has joined Morningstar Indexes as chief of administration. Farmer had previously been the chief commercial officer of S&P Dow Jones Indices. Morningstar seems to be developing a dream team of index professionals to help grow their business. They started with Ron Bundy, formerly of FTSE Russell, then brought in Pat Fay, also formerly of FTSE Russell. They also have Suzanne Ropeta, formerly of FTSE Russell and Russell Investments, as head of marketing.
My friends at the Hertshten Group sent me the following press release:
Hertshten Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Bharat Mittal as its new Head of Technology. With over 800 employees based in various countries, Hertshten Group is a major participant in the Listed Derivatives space, providing constant and reliable liquidity to some of the world's most important markets. Hertshten Group, which continues to invest heavily in technology, plans to further develop its internal technology offering and fortify its position as a market leader in the intersection of technology and human ingenuity. Prior to joining Hertshten Group, Bharat worked for over 22 years at Trading Technologies (TT), a global provider of professional trading software, in several roles, most recently as its Chief Technology Officer. As CTO at TT, Bharat oversaw all aspects of the company's global engineering enterprise encompassing software engineering, quality engineering, and platform and systems engineering. Prior to his role as CTO, Bharat served as EVP of Engineering and Architecture at TT. Bharat is a native of India, and received his undergraduate degree in computer science from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka.
Have a great day and stay safe and treat people the same way you want to be treated: with respect, equality and justice.~JJL
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CME Group's Terry Duffy Gets Warm Reception from Josh King's Inside the ICE House Podcast
John Lothian - JohnLothianNews.com
In the Inside the ICE House podcast series, Josh King of Intercontinental Exchange really does a good job of warming up the audience and the interviewee, as well as with the subject matter. He does such a good job, he was able to get "the Mike Ditka of the exchange business," Terry Duffy of the CME Group, to visit the New York Stock Exchange and sit for a terrific interview on both of their parts.
Read more »
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Reflecting on Trading Futures and the Future of Trading
ICE House - NYSE
CME Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy's career, from his first day in the pits of the Merc to testifying before Congress on the potential pitfalls of FTX, has been marked by his willingness to roll up his sleeves, mix it up, and speak his mind. Terry returns to the NYSE, where he led the first IPO of a US exchange two decades ago, for a far-ranging conversation on navigating the regulatory process, the biggest issues facing the markets, and some of the even bigger issues facing the country. Terry says that despite constant change, the industry remains rooted in the underlying mechanisms and principles upon which the derivatives business was founded.
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****** I really liked Terry Duffy's pro-woman stance in this interview. He and I have more in common than either of us probably wishes to admit.~JJL
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FIA's CEO Walt Lukken speaks on cyber resilience before CFTC; Remarks delivered to Market Risk Advisory Committee 8 March 2023 in Washington, D.C. As prepared for delivery.
FIA
CFTC Commissioner Johnson, fellow members of the Commission, thank you for holding this important and timely discussion about the recent ION Markets cyber incident. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 31, London time, FIA became aware of an outage at ION Markets impacting the trading and clearing of exchange traded derivatives. FIA immediately began working with members to identify the scope of the outage to assess the potential impact on our markets. ION is a software service provider that offers middle- and back-office products to a number of clearing firms that are active in futures markets, not only here in the US but also in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the Americas. Those services are embedded in the execution and clearing workflow at these firms, and any disruption makes it difficult for firms to process their trades in a timely and efficient way.
/jlne.ws/3mEUxCE
****** Walt Lukken amping up the industry response to ION.~JJL
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'Anarchy in Chicago': Ken Griffin, lambasting state of city, touts Vallas for mayor
Robert Garcia - Crain's Chicago Business
To hear Citadel founder Ken Griffin explain it, he wasn't the one who decided to move his financial empire and family to Miami. As he put it in an interview Tuesday with Bloomberg News, it was the 100-plus employees working in the company's emergency trading bunker in Florida during the height of the pandemic. "Why would we trade the anarchy in Chicago for the tranquility in Florida?" he said.
/jlne.ws/3yrDkze
******I will give you one reason, the Miami Marlins. Compare the experience of going to Wrigley Field to see the Chicago Cubs play to watching the Marlins and you will yearn for the anarchy of Chicago.~JJL
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FIA Tech builds out sales offering in Europe; Gregg Whitbread joins FIA Tech as Senior Manager, Global Product Sales
FIA Tech
FIA Tech, the futures industry's leading technology provider, today announced that Gregg Whitbread has joined the firm in the newly created role of Senior Manager, Global Product Sales, effective 1st March 2023. Gregg will be based in London and reports to FIA Tech's Head of Business Development, Andrew La Manna.
/jlne.ws/3Jr23Kx
****** And just like that, FIA Tech was selling in Europe.~JJL
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Wednesday's Top Three
Our top story Wednesday was the TT press release Trading Technologies acquires AxeTrading, further accelerating multi-asset class expansion with major move into fixed income markets. Second was $17 million Lake Geneva mansion is being torn down, from Crain's Chicago Business. Third was Market Tech: How To Spot an FTX by Sam Gaer at Katana Financial.
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| All MarketsWiki Sponsors» | | | | | | | John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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| Lead Stories | The Hack That Upended Derivatives Trading Spurs Calls for Action; Defenses to 'keep pace with evolving threats': CFTC's Johnson; Top US derivatives regulator is seeking to mitigate cyber risk
Katherine Doherty and Isis Almeida - Bloomberg
A cyberattack that disrupted derivatives trading in January is prompting calls for more oversight to combat the risk of hacks across financial markets. The top US derivatives regulator wants to update standards and monitoring systems that will help minimize the frequency and magnitude of hacks. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is pushing for futures and swaps dealers to exercise more due diligence and oversight of the third-party service providers they work with, and requiring that they have a plan for responding to cyber incidents from the first day.
/jlne.ws/3F8FVSs
One Year Later, LME Nickel Trading Remains Crippled by Crisis; Daily nickel volumes have dropped by half from a year earlier; Open interest remains lower, while metal stocks keep shrinking
Mark Burton - Bloomberg
One year since a runaway short squeeze that transfixed the global financial world, the London Metal Exchange's nickel market is still struggling to get back on its feet. Average daily trading volumes are stuck at less than half the levels from before the crisis, while the number of open contracts has dropped by more than a third. The decline in activity has left the market vulnerable to erratic swings and raised questions about its continued viability as the place where benchmark prices are set for one of the world's most important metals.
/jlne.ws/3mFHL79
CFTC Chair Says Ethereum Is a Commodity-Despite Gensler's 'Bitcoin Only' Position
Andrew Throuvalas - Decrypt
The chairman of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken a firm stance against the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s subtle power creep over the digital asset market. Rostin Behnam told the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday that Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency next to Bitcoin, is a commodity.
/jlne.ws/3F5CbRR
Artificial Intelligence Is Booming-So Is Its Carbon Footprint; Greater transparency on emissions could also bring more scrutiny
Josh Saul and Dina Bass - Bloomberg
Artificial intelligence has become the tech industry's shiny new toy, with expectations it'll revolutionize trillion-dollar industries from retail to medicine. But the creation of every new chatbot and image generator requires a lot of electricity, which means the technology may be responsible for a massive and growing amount of planet-warming carbon emissions. Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.'s Google and ChatGPT maker OpenAI use cloud computing that relies on thousands of chips inside servers in massive data centers across the globe to train AI algorithms called models, analyzing data to help them "learn" to perform tasks. The success of ChatGPT has other companies racing to release their own rival AI systems and chatbots or building products that use large AI models to deliver features to anyone from Instacart shoppers to Snap users to CFOs.
/jlne.ws/3L57e42
Crypto bank Silvergate to shut down in face of market turmoil; Shares plunge after lender whose fortunes tumbled since collapse of FTX announces liquidation
Stephen Gandel - Financial Times
Silvergate, the San Diego-based regional lender that transformed itself into a go-to bank for the crypto industry, plans to wind down operations in the face of turmoil in digital currency markets. Citing "recent industry and regulatory developments", Silvergate on Wednesday announced that a "voluntary liquidation of the bank is the best path forward". The disclosure sent its stock down more than 30 per cent in after-hours trading to $3 a share.
/jlne.ws/3l16jHa
JPMorgan Sues Former Executive Jes Staley Over Jeffrey Epstein Ties; Bank reveals Staley is accused of sexual assault in unnamed woman's lawsuit
David Benoit and Khadeeja Safdar - The Wall Street Journal
JPMorgan Chase & Co. sued former executive Jes Staley over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, identifying Mr. Staley as the "powerful financial executive" accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit against the bank. Late last year, an unnamed woman alleged that JPMorgan aided Epstein's sex trafficking by allowing him to remain a client and helping him send money to the late financier's victims.
/jlne.ws/3YudghL
Silvergate's Story Is About Fundamentals, Not Just Crypto; The lender's problems stemmed partly from age-old banking risks such as concentration and matching assets and liabilities
Telis Demos - The Wall Street Journal
Silvergate Capital was in the newfangled business of cryptocurrency banking. But it ran into some very old banking problems-which could rattle investors in traditional lenders, too. The California bank said Wednesday that it intends to wind down and plans to return all deposits. Though Silvergate's customers were once cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase Global and FTX, its core banking activity was actually quite familiar: holding deposits of ordinary dollars from those customers and investing in government-backed securities. And therein lies the concerning part for bank investors.
/jlne.ws/3YxWnTd
Bankman-Fried's lawyers say October trial may need to be delayed
Luc Cohen - Reuters
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers said on Wednesday it may be necessary to delay the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's scheduled Oct. 2 criminal trial, arguing it may take more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, the 31-year-old former billionaire's lawyers said federal prosecutors in Manhattan had not yet turned over evidence collected from electronic devices belonging to Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, previously two of their client's closest associates.
/jlne.ws/3ZAYUNG
Crypto Bank Silvergate Announces 'Voluntary Liquidation'
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will "voluntarily liquidate" its assets and wind down operations, its holding company, Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI), said Wednesday. The bank was under fire after announcing a week ago it would have to delay filing its annual 10-K report due to questions from its independent auditors and accounting firm over its figures. In Wednesday's announcement, Silvergate Corp. announced it had tapped Centerview Partners as a financial adviser, the law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP and Strategic Risk Associates for "transition management assistance." Under the winding down all deposits will be repaid in full, the company said.
/jlne.ws/3Fby5rv
Four new members join cross-industry Sustainable Trading organisation; Initial best practices distributed with ESG measurement framework underway
Sustainable Trading
Sustainable Trading, the non-profit membership network dedicated to transforming environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices within the business operations of the financial markets trading industry, celebrates its first anniversary year with the addition of 4 new members to its cross-industry initiative. Cabrera Capital Markets, IEX Exchange, Iress, and Tourmaline Partners join an established group of market-leading financial firms committed to shaping a more sustainable financial markets trading environment.
/jlne.ws/3Yu2dVP
The US Military Needs to Create a Cyber Force; Online attacks are growing in both number and danger, and a new branch of the armed forces is the best way to protect against them.
James Stavridis - Bloomberg
Two disturbing incidents roiled the cyber seas last week, one foreign and one domestic. They both strengthen the case - which was already convincing, and which I have been making for almost a decade now - for the creation of a US Cyber Force. The first incident was yet another cyberattack on a NATO member, Albania, by Iran. It was part of an ongoing Iranian campaign to attack Albania, a small Muslim nation of only about three million in the Balkans.
/jlne.ws/3J6mU4x
171 Trillion Pieces of Plastic Trash Now Clog the World's Oceans; A global study finds a sharp rise in marine plastic pollution since 2005, with no signs of slowing down.
Leslie Kaufman - Bloomberg
There are more than 170 trillion tiny plastic particles - or 2 million tons of them - floating on the surface of the ocean, and many of them got there after 2004, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. The peer-reviewed paper is by Marcus Eriksen of the 5 Gyres Institute, a California-based nonprofit focused on plastic pollution, and researchers at other organizations and universities. There was a previous attempt to estimate the amount of plastic afloat on ocean currents back in 2014.
/jlne.ws/3Jol7Jm
Crypto Bank Silvergate Capital Says It Will Shut Down; Stock Plummets
Rachel Louise Ensign - The Wall Street Journal
Silvergate Capital, one of the crypto market's top banks, is shutting down. The bank will repay all deposits and "is also considering how best to resolve claims and preserve the residual value of its assets," it said in a news release Wednesday. Silvergate caters to companies in the crypto business. It helped institutional investors move dollars in and out of crypto-trading platforms through its Silvergate Exchange Network, which it stopped operating last week.
/jlne.ws/3J63UmD
JPMorgan sues Jes Staley for damages tied to Epstein lawsuits; Bank claims former executive failed to disclose potentially damaging ties to convicted sex offender
Joshua Franklin and Joe Miller - Financial Times
JPMorgan Chase is suing Jes Staley, a former top executive, in an attempt to make him liable for any penalties the US bank might have to pay if it is found to have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking crimes in two high-profile lawsuits. Staley, who is alleged in the lawsuits to have "personally observed" Epstein abusing women, and to have "spent time" with young girls at the disgraced financier's homes, did not disclose this to JPMorgan, the bank claimed in a court filing made in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3Zyyso9
A quarter of buy-side firms still have no formal diversity policy, finds The TRADE's first Diversity & Inclusion Survey; The results, taken from a survey of over 100 buy-side, sell-side firms and trading venues, show that while many firms do have a policy in place, there are still significant gaps in benchmarking progress, while most firms have a notable imbalance of gender and ethnic diversity in senior roles.
Laurie McAughtry - The Trade
The TRADE's first Diversity & Inclusion Survey, which polled a wide selection of buy-side firms (48%), sell-side firms (39%) and trading venues (12%), has found that while diversity is highly valued across the industry and recognised as a crucial element, there are still a number of gaps - especially within the areas of formal policymaking and benchmarking progress.
/jlne.ws/3SZNTmJ
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| Ukraine Invasion | | News about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and its military, economic, political and humanitarian impact | Grain Traders Bank On Renewal of Vital Ukraine Crop Deal; Talks are ongoing to extend the export pact beyond mid-March; Wheat has hit lowest in over a year and corn also fell lately
Megan Durisin and Aine Quinn - Bloomberg
The crucial grain deal that revived Ukraine's crop exports and helped bring down global prices is up for renewal again, and the market is betting on another extension. The current agreement runs through March 18 and can be continued for another 120 days if no side seeks to modify or terminate the pact. The United Nations on Wednesday stressed how critical the deal is, and Kyiv and Moscow have voiced demands with talks underway.
/jlne.ws/3ZXavql
Military briefing: Ukraine's battle of diminishing returns for Bakhmut; Eastern Ukrainian city has become an attritional trap where both sides seek to deplete each other's ranks
Roman Olearchyk and Ben Hall and John Paul Rathbone - Financial Times
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week recommitted his forces to defending the eastern city of Bakhmut just as western officials and even some Ukrainian soldiers suggested it might be wiser to pull back. The battle for Bakhmut, raging for nine months, has become an attritional trap, with Russians and Ukrainians trying to deplete each other's ranks and gain an advantage for offensives later this spring.
/jlne.ws/3J5VAmD
Ukraine reels from massive Russian missile attack; In a rare move, Moscow fires six of its nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles
Roman Olearchyk - Financial Times
Russia has carried out one of its largest strikes on Ukraine including with nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles that hit cities and knocked off back-up power at Europe's largest atomic plant. Of the more than 80 rockets fired, six were nuclear-capable hypersonic Kh-47 Kinzhal air-to-surface missiles, according to Ukrainian officials. The assault has left much of Kyiv without electricity.
/jlne.ws/3mEGUUc
Citi warns clients about risks of Russia 'weaponising' metals; As a leading supplier of aluminium and palladium, any export cuts by Moscow could lead to price rises
Leslie Hook and Harry Dempsey - Financial Times
Citigroup has warned clients about the risks of Russia weaponising its exports of materials such as aluminium, palladium and nuclear fuels, potentially leading to price rises for these critical commodities. None of these materials, widely used in industrial and energy production, has yet been subject to western sanctions or export restrictions by Russia since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
/jlne.ws/3Jr7o4o
Germany May Have Identified Ship Involved in Nord Stream Bombing; German probe may shed light on who was behind pipeline attack; Defense chief says origin of Nord Stream attack still unknown
Patrick Donahue and Michael Nienaber - Bloomberg
German authorities said they searched a vessel that may have transported explosives used in the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, signaling that an investigation may yield more on who was behind it. Investigators are probing traces and items found in the search of a vessel from Jan. 18 to 20, the Federal Prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday. Germans working for the company that leased the ship are not under investigation, it said.
/jlne.ws/3mxU317
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| Exchanges, OTC & Clearing | | Top news from exchanges, clearing, settlement and trade execution facilities | Politics 'plays a role' within the Federal Reserve: Terry Duffy
FOX Business
CME Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy argues there's no way around the market 'chaos' when Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks.
/jlne.ws/3ZxHu4H
ICE to Host Carbon Credit Auctions for UpEnergy
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced that it plans to auction carbon credits based on UpEnergy's Improved Cookstove Programme in Uganda. UpEnergy is a social impact business that makes clean technologies, from cleaner cooking to safe water, accessible to people and communities in low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its Cookstove Project in Uganda aims to distribute locally made fuel saving stoves to help reduce emissions, protect local forests and improve the financial wellbeing of those vulnerable to climate risks.
/jlne.ws/3ZzqpHA
Keynote speech by SGX Group CEO Loh Boon Chye at CGS China-ASEAN Business Leaders Summit 2023
SGX Group
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning to you.Many thanks to CGS-CIMB for inviting me to speak today. With the pandemic behind us, today's gathering of government and business leaders from across China and ASEAN shows we are all focused on the next phase of growth ahead of us.
/jlne.ws/41ZIYGr
Ukrainian Firm's Exit Marks Rude Awakening for Warsaw Bourse; Kernel adds to Warsaw departures as war ravages its operations; Tycoon Verevskyi also laments low visibility, analyst coverage
Konrad Krasuski - Bloomberg
Eastern Europe's leading bourse is losing another member as one of the world's biggest producers of sunflower oil delists from the Warsaw Stock Exchange, citing complaints including poor liquidity and thin analyst coverage. Namsen Ltd - the investment vehicle of Ukrainian businessman Andrii Verevskyi - announced an offer this week to buy out all other shareholders in Kernel Holding SA, the company he founded whose listing in 2007 came amid a push to encourage Ukrainian firms to the Polish exchange.
/jlne.ws/3Zx7qgX
Prague Stock Exchange adopts sustainability reporting guidelines
Svitlana Pyrkalo - European Bank
Prague Stock Exchange launches sustainability reporting guidelines developed with EBRD and Taiwanese support. Issuers encouraged to meet market expectations on sustainability reporting. In 2022, the EBRD invested euro 111 million in the Czech Republic. The Prague Stock Exchange is adopting its first environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting guidelines for Czech companies, developed with the technical assistance of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and technical cooperation support from the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.
/jlne.ws/3YA2pmp
Bursa Malaysia, LSE Group to start sustainability reporting platform in April - PM
Reuters
Bursa Malaysia (BMYS.KL) and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) will roll out a centralised sustainability reporting platform from next month to help companies calculate the impact of their carbon emissions, Malaysia's prime minister said. The platform is also expected to help firms, including unlisted small-to-medium enterprises, to disclose environmental, social or governance (ESG) data in line with established global standards, Anwar Ibrahim told an annual investor conference.
/jlne.ws/3ZxDwZW
Syndio Joins The London Stock Exchange Issuer Services Marketplace to expand ESG tools available to listed companies
Fintech Finance News
Today Syndio, the leading workplace equity platform provider, announces it has joined the London Stock Exchange Issuer Services Marketplace. Syndio's workplace equity platform will expand the ESG tools available on the marketplace, becoming part of a group of trusted third-party service providers who provide curated services to over 2000+ listed companies on the London Stock Exchange.
/jlne.ws/3La4Qc3
NMB Bank brings first Sub-Saharan gender bond to LGX
Luxembourg Stock Exchange
As part of its International Women's Day celebrations, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange welcomed the first gender bond from Sub-Saharan Africa issued by NMB Bank Plc in Tanzania. In a special two-part Ring the Bell ceremony which saw the launch of the Luxembourg Women in Finance Charter, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) was also joined by representatives of NMB Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to celebrate the display of the bank's TZS 74 billion (equivalent to USD 32 million) gender bond on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX).
/jlne.ws/3ZyA4OJ
SIX Reports Solid Results for 2022 Despite Challenging Market Conditions
BME-X
SIX successfully grew in the majority of its business units at constant currencies, despite the challenging environment. The diversified business model of SIX once again demonstrated its worth. The year under review also marked the second consecutive year of BME fully contributing to the company results. Going forward, SIX will continue to focus on tapping into further client segments and leveraging business opportunities in the areas of ESG and digital assets.
/jlne.ws/3T1To4d
CME Group Announces Initial Trading of New Crop Weekly Options
CME Group
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that open interest in New Crop Weekly Options has surpassed 500 contracts, while a total of 984 contracts across 28 unique account numbers have traded since launching on January 23. New Crop Weekly Options build on the success of Short-Dated New Crop Options, which launched a decade ago and achieved record average daily volume (ADV) of 11,000 contracts in 2022.
/jlne.ws/3LaktR5
CME says its aluminum contract is active; Chicago-based exchange says aluminum trading futures activity is up 300 percent in early 2023.
Brian Taylor - Recycling Today
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group says participation in its aluminum futures contract is off to a strong start in 2023, reporting record average daily volume (ADV) in February of 3,161 contracts, up 300 percent year over year. CME says in the first two months of this year it recorded average daily open interest of 2,549 contracts, up 711 percent year over year in futures activity, some of which will extend through December 2024.
/jlne.ws/3l5kf2L
China Copper Exports to Jump in Rare Deliveries to LME Depots; Smelters will deliver as much as 45,000 tons in March: sources; Nation is typically a massive net importer of the metal
Bloomberg
China is poised to export a significant volume of copper in coming weeks, a relatively infrequent occurrence that underscores a tepid demand recovery in the biggest market. At least four major smelters are planning to deliver between 23,000 and 45,000 tons of refined copper in total to London Metal Exchange depots in Asia, according to people with knowledge of the sales, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.
/jlne.ws/420yPJu
Demystifying euro clearing
Eurex
As geopolitical and macroeconomic events battered market conditions, the debate over European swaps clearing has dimmed, with UK CCP equivalence in place until 2025. But this hasn't diminished the importance of the work that still needs to be done to support a thriving cleared swaps markets on the continent. Ahead of the Eurex Derivatives Forum on March 22-23, Eurex sat down with Gaspard Bonin, Deputy Global Head of Derivatives Execution & Clearing at BNP Paribas, to talk about the market's future.
/jlne.ws/3ZxMrKU
Euronext announces volumes for February 2023
Euronext
Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris - 8 March 2023- Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, today announced trading volumes for February 2023. Monthly and historical volume tables are available at this address:
/jlne.ws/41ZDUlj
Euronext announces annual review results of the PSI
Euronext
Euronext today announced the results of the annual review for the PSI®, which will take place after markets close on Friday 17 March 2023 and be effective from 20 March 2023. The Independent Supervisor retains the right to change the published selection, for instance in the case of a removal due to a takeover, until the publication of the final data after close of 15 March 2023.
/jlne.ws/3Ls9P8v
Solid Performance poises JSE for future growth, 2022 financial results show
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) today announced its annual financial results for the year ended 31 December 2022, posting R749 million net profit after tax (NPAT) - a 4% year-on-year (YoY) increase. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) also increased by 4% to 917.7 cents (2021: 878.9 cents) per share, and earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) increased by 1% to R1.07 billion (2021: R1.06 bn).
/jlne.ws/3YE9J0s
JPX Monthly Headlines - February 2023
JPX
JPX group companies undertake various initiatives and disseminate information with the aim of providing the most attractive markets to all users.
Every month, we showcase the highlights of these efforts in short and concise summaries just for you.
/jlne.ws/41VTJcS
Companies with highest number of complaints pending
NSE
Out of the companies whose securities are traded on NSE, there is one company with the number of complaints greater than or equal to 10, pending for more than 2 months OR the aggregate value of the complaints pending for more than 2 months is equal to or greater than Rs.5 lakhs for 5 or more complaints as on February 28, 2023.
/jlne.ws/3J07U8d
TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics - February 2023
TMX Group today announced its financing activity on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for February 2023. TSX welcomed 14 new issuers in February 2023, compared with 15 in the previous month and 11 in February 2022. The new listings were 11 exchange traded funds, two oil & gas companies and one mining company. Total financings raised in February 2023 increased 20% compared to the previous month, but were down 62% compared to February 2022. The total number of financings in February 2023 was 37, compared with 38 the previous month and 38 in February 2022.
/jlne.ws/3ZB9R1K
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| Fintech | | A roundup of today's market tech news and a look at tomorrow's disruptors | Coinbase launches wallet API to help integrate Web 2.0 devs into web3 world
Jacquelyn Melinek - Techcrunch
Coinbase, the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has launched a new product to help onboard developers into web3, the company shared with TechCrunch on Wednesday. It should be easier to go to a website or engage with a brand without having to leave their platform, Will Robinson, VP of engineering at Coinbase, said to TechCrunch. "We should allow people to onboard into web3, right there, so they're truly in control of their assets in a contained experience."
/jlne.ws/3SZt372
Women Making Change in Fintech
Shanny Basar - MarketsMedia
On March 7, the day before International Women's Day, asset manager Franklin Templeton hosted a webinar, A Conversation with Women Changemakers in the Fintech Industry, to discuss creating a more inclusive environment. The panel was moderated by Sandy Kaul, senior vice president, digital assets and industry advisory services at Franklin Templeton, whose team thinks about how disruptive technologies and innovation are changing the wealth and the asset management industry.
/jlne.ws/3Jt4Xy8
Cloud Computing Is Pricy. These Startups Want to Help
Matt Day - Bloomberg
Cloud computing is expensive. As the tech economy stumbles and businesses pare back, growth at the largest cloud-computing companies has slowed. That's created an opportunity for startups that want to help trim those bills. The latest: Vantage, a New York City-based company that on Wednesday plans to announce it has raised $21 million from investors.
/jlne.ws/3T97TU8
Blue Ocean ATS to Expand in Asia Pacific
MarketsMedia
Blue Ocean ATS, which provides overnight trading of US stocks, has launched a connectivity and market data partnership in Hong Kong and aims to enter Japan, and then Singapore. The Blue Ocean ATS session allows trading of US stocks during US overnight hours, from 8PM ET to 4AM ET, from Sunday to Thursday. Brian Hyndman, president and chief executive of Blue Ocean Technologies, told Markets Media that volumes from Asia Pacific volumes are picking up.
/jlne.ws/3J1cAe4
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| Cybersecurity | | Top stories for cybersecurity | Four Ways ChatGPT Is Changing Cybersecurity
Christopher Prewitt - Forbes
Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been a part of the cybersecurity industry. However, the newest versions of AI, such as ChatGPT have rapidly broken new ground and are already having a profound impact on the future. Here are four ways the rise of ChatGPT has already changed the game.
/jlne.ws/3mz2l93
New gov't cybersecurity strategy rolls out amid AI buzz, concerns it could be abused by criminals
Quinn Owen - Yahoo
The Biden administration is moving to implement a new national security strategy focused on stopping hackers, as buzz around artificial intelligence tools raises concern among some experts that criminals may try to exploit AI capabilities.
/jlne.ws/3FbkTmb
China getting bolder and better in cyberspace, spy chiefs warn
Tim Starks - The Washington Post
China has long ranked at or near the top of U.S. national security officials' list of cyber adversaries. On Wednesday, spy agency leaders warned that China is getting even bolder and better in cyberspace. And if China believed it was on the verge of a major conflict with the United States, it very well could unleash all of its cyber might, according to the annual worldwide threat assessment the intelligence community released Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3ZQCUhF
Cyberattacks Are Just One Part of Hybrid Warfare
Jeff Stone and Jordan Robertson - Bloomberg
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, was immediate top news worldwide due to eyewitness accounts and images of missile strikes shared on television and social media. By contrast, a near-simultaneous cyberattack on satellite systems that Ukraine relied on to coordinate troop and drone movements - systems that also provided broadband service to more than 100,000 internet users in at least 13 countries across Europe and North Africa - was cloaked in mystery for weeks, and to this day Russia's government denies any involvement in it. Such is the nature of the modern form of combat known as hybrid warfare, which marries unambiguous brute force with stealth, subterfuge and heaps of plausible deniability.
/jlne.ws/3ZyFidj
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| Cryptocurrencies | | Top stories for cryptocurrencies | JPMorgan ending banking relationship with crypto exchange Gemini - source
Niket Nishant - Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co is cutting ties with Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, according to a source familiar with the situation. The decision comes days after Silvergate Capital Corp , one of the most influential lenders in the digital asset industry, warned of doubts over its ability to continue as a going concern, fueling a rout in the crypto markets. In a tweet, Gemini said its relationship with the bank remains intact. JPMorgan declined to comment.
/jlne.ws/3ZAJokZ
New Decentralized Crypto Exchange Plays Up Transparency After FTX Collapse; Vertex positions itself as alternative to centralized entities; Protocol 'can achieve comparable performance,' co-founder says
David Pan - Bloomberg
A new decentralized crypto exchange is pledging faster speeds and greater transparency, positioning itself as an alternative to centralized entities like Binance and Coinbase that have faced increasing regulatory scrutiny. Blockchain firm Vertex will launch the low-latency, decentralized exchange Wednesday, giving institutions immediate access to its spot and derivatives trading, before the platform is open to others in the second quarter.
/jlne.ws/41ZT2zq
FTX Reaches $45M Deal to Sell Interest in Sequoia to Abu Dhabi's Investment Arm
Jack Schickler - CoinDesk
FTX's investment arm, Alameda Research, has struck a $45 million cash deal to sell its interest in Sequoia Capital to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/420G1FK
FTX Proposes $4M Bonus Program as It Seeks to Retain Staff
Jack Schickler - CoinDesk
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX wants to introduce a $4 million bonus program to stop staff with key skills quitting, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Chief Executive Officer John J. Ray III, who took charge on Nov. 11 when the company filed for bankruptcy, wants to offer bonuses as much as 94% of salary to stop those with knowledge of programming or company accounting practices from quitting.
/jlne.ws/3J629WA
Crypto Stakeholders Say No Exposure to Shuttered Silvergate
Sam Reynolds - CoinDesk
Crypto companies are scrambling to reassure the market that they do not have any corporate cash left at Silvergate Bank, which recently announced that it is in the process of winding down its operations through voluntary liquidation.
/jlne.ws/3l5Ry5N
US Crypto Caution Adds a Hurdle to Silvergate's Rescue Effort; Firm questioned its own viability after crypto market crumbled; Receivership is a 'distinct possibility,' Wedbush says
Max Reyes and Amelia Pollard - Bloomberg
Anyone working with US regulators to salvage Silvergate Capital Corp., the crypto-friendly bank, will have to reckon with a key variable - the wariness of those same officials about digital assets. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. can get involved when a bank is near the brink, which is where Silvergate said it stood last week when it raised questions about its stability.
/jlne.ws/3J2DNgm
Grayscale CEO Sonnenshein Says ETF Court Ruling May Come by Third Quarter; Grayscale seeks approval to convert Bitcoin trust into an ETF; Sonnenshein reiterates firm's commitment to cutting fees
David Pan and Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Grayscale Investments anticipates that a federal appeals court may decide by the third quarter whether to overturn the US Securities and Exchange Commission's rejection of its application to convert its Bitcoin trust into an exchange-traded fund. The share price of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which trades under the ticker GBTC, rose for a second day. It has jumped about 11% since oral arguments in the case were held yesterday in Washington.
/jlne.ws/4227qqW
Bankrupt Mt. Gox's Largest Creditor Plans to Keep Returned Bitcoin; Crypto firm's bankruptcy process is close to disbursing assets; Investors on alert for any sign Bitcoin sales may follow
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
The largest creditor of the failed Mt. Gox crypto exchange intends to hold rather than sell the Bitcoin that's due to be disbursed to it this year. The Mt Gox Investment Fund - which bought claims against the bankrupt digital-asset platform - doesn't plan to sell the tokens that are scheduled to be returned in September, according to a person familiar with the fund's thinking, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
/jlne.ws/3L8FueM
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| Politics | | An overview of politics as it relates to the financial markets | More big biz bucks flow into Vallas campaign war chest
Justin Laurence - Crain's Chicago Business
Taking advantage of Paul Vallas eliminating the short-lived limit on contributions in Chicago's mayoral runoff, wealthy donors continue to pour money into his campaign. Led by six-figure sums from local businessmen, Vallas raked in $1.2 million in new cash reported Tuesday as he and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson try to redefine themselves and their opponent with voters who supported Mayor Lori Lightfoot or one of the other seven candidates in the Feb. 28 election.
/jlne.ws/3La5Cpv
Russia Oil Output May Fall Slower Than Expected: CERAWeek Update; TotalEnergies CEO presentation was interrupted by a protester; US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm strikes a friendly tone
Bloomberg
Day three of CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston was heavy on discussions of electricity and natural gas. US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm struck a friendly tone during her keynote address, seeking to mend ties between the fossil-fuel industry and the Biden administration. In other sessions, Petroleo Brasileiro SA Chief Executive Officer Jean Paul Prates warned the state-controlled company may need to trim exports.
/jlne.ws/3yrEjzq
Keystone Oil Spill Probe Seen Cutting Back Pipeline Flows; Pipeline had restored flows to 594,000 barrels a day in March; TC Energy says it won't be able to accommodate spot shipments
Robert Tuttle and Sheela Tobben - Bloomberg
A US probe into the 13,000-barrel oil spill on TC Energy's Keystone pipeline is expected to cut into crude flows ahead of the summer driving season. Regulators on Tuesday ordered the company to reduce operating pressure along the entire Keystone system stretching from Hardisty, Canada, to Cushing, Oklahoma until further notice.
/jlne.ws/3mHKH3e
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| Regulation & Enforcement | | Stories about regulation and the law. | Beginners Guide To Crypto Regulation
Steven Ehrlich - Forbes
There is a common misperception that the digital-assets industry is not regulated. In the U.S. alone, federal agencies and regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury have all issued rules and guidance about how crypto falls under their respective remits. This does not even touch on various state regulators and law-enforcement bodies that have undertaken similar initiatives nor on multiple efforts from financial regulators around the world.
/jlne.ws/3SYCG5X
Statement of Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero Before the Market Risk Advisory Committee
CFTC
Thank you to the members of the Market Risk Advisory Committee ("MRAC") for your service. I want to recognize Commissioner Kristin Johnson for her leadership of MRAC and also recognize the staff for their work in bringing us together today. The MRAC was created as the Commission was implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which fundamentally reformed the derivatives market structure. It had transferred risks into clearinghouses, moved trading into new swaps platforms, and for the first time, imposed risk management, capital, and margin requirements on the largest dealers. Markets were changing, and the risks in those markets were changing with them.
/jlne.ws/3T1RT68
Opening Statement of Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson Before the Market Risk Advisory Committee Meeting
CFTC
Good morning and welcome to the first meeting of the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC) in 2023 and our second MRAC meeting under my sponsorship. As our agenda indicates, today we will engage in the CFTC's first public meeting examining recent cyber disruptions that affected cleared derivatives markets. On January 31, 2023, in a short statement, ION Cleared Derivatives, a division of ION Markets-a Dublin-based firm, acknowledged that "a cybersecurity event" had "affected some of its services."
/jlne.ws/3Yx4bVq
Testimony of Chairman Rostin Behnam Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry; "Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission"
CFTC
Good morning Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Boozman, and members of the Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the state of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC" or "Agency"). In recognition of Women's History Month, and specifically today, which is International Women's Day, I first and foremost want to acknowledge all the women in attendance in person and virtually, and at the CFTC, and to commend my colleagues Commissioners Johnson, Goldsmith Romero, Mersinger and Pham, for their leadership and public service to this country.
/jlne.ws/3F9xarx
Opening Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham before the Market Risk Advisory Committee
CFTC
Good morning. Thank you to Commissioner Johnson; Bruce Fekrat, the Designated Financial Officer; and to the many guest speakers and those Members in attendance for today's meeting of the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC). I value your time and contributions. I am pleased to see that the MRAC is following on to and continuing the important discussions that the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC), which I sponsor, raised at our February 13 meeting a couple weeks ago-global market structure including trading, liquidity, and clearing; global commodity market volatility; and digital assets.
/jlne.ws/40b6ejh
Federal Court Orders Texas Energy Broker, Its Owners, and Affiliated Trading Firms to Pay Nearly $3 Million For Fraud, Trading Against Customers Without Consent and Failure to Supervise
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas entered a consent order on March 7 imposing monetary sanctions and injunctive relief against Coquest Inc. (Coquest), a registered introducing broker (IB), its owners Dennis Weinmann and John Vassallo, and affiliated trading firms Buttonwood LLC (Buttonwood) and Weva Properties Ltd. (Weva), all of Dallas, Texas.
/jlne.ws/3ZuF8DA
Former Goldman banker Roger Ng to be sentenced for 1MDB fraud; Prosecutors are seeking at least 15 years in prison for Malaysian citizen convicted in international financial scandal
Stefania Palma - Financial Times
Roger Ng, the former Goldman Sachs banker convicted in connection with the multibillion-dollar embezzlement scheme at 1MDB, is set to be sentenced on Thursday in a New York court, the latest chapter in one of the biggest financial scandals in recent history. Last year, a US jury in Brooklyn found Ng, a 50-year-old Malaysian citizen, guilty on all three counts in his case: conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws, conspiring to launder money and conspiring to skirt Goldman's internal accounting controls. He faces up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors have requested a minimum sentence of 15 years.
/jlne.ws/3JoVh7U
SEC Sues Utah-Based Crypto Asset Company, Its Founder, and a Recidivist Salesperson for Fraud and Registration Violations
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Utah-based company Green United, LLC, its founder Wright W. Thurston, and one of its promoters, Kristoffer A. Krohn, with allegedly defrauding investors in connection with an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities.
/jlne.ws/3mGzxLM
SEC Charges Healthcare Executive with Insider Trading Through Rule 10B5-1 Plans
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Terren S. Peizer, Executive Chairman of the Santa Monica, California-based healthcare treatment company Ontrak, Inc., with insider trading for selling more than $20 million of Ontrak stock between May and August 2021 while in possession of material nonpublic negative information related to the company's largest customer.
/jlne.ws/3mCAq8g
ASIC places interim stop orders on TMD and PDS for a securities lending product
ASIC
ASIC has made two interim stop orders preventing Interactive Brokers Australia Pty Ltd (Interactive Brokers) from issuing Stock Yield Enhancement Program (SYEP) Derivatives to retail investors because of deficiencies in the product's target market determination (TMD) and product disclosure statement (PDS). The interim orders prohibit Interactive Brokers from offering, issuing, giving a PDS for or providing general advice in relation to SYEP Derivatives to retail investors. The orders are valid for 21 days unless revoked earlier.
/jlne.ws/3ZAOQnV
SFC reprimands and fines City International Futures (Hong Kong) Limited $100,000 for regulatory breaches
Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined City International Futures (Hong Kong) Limited (CIFHKL), now known as VERCAP Financial Services Limited, $100,000 for failures in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) and other regulatory requirements between March 2016 and October 2018 (Note 1).
/jlne.ws/421aYcE
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| Investing & Trading | | Today's top stories from equities, indices and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) | Eris Innovations Announces Strategic Investment Round to Capitalize on New Margin Treatment
Eris Innovations - Business Wire
Eris Innovations, an intellectual property licensing company that partners with global financial exchanges to develop futures products, today announced the closing of a $7.2 million strategic investment round. The announcement follows the February 27 addition of Eris SOFR Swap Futures (Eris SOFR) as products eligible for portfolio margining with interest rate swaps cleared by CME Group.
/jlne.ws/3L6ri5V
Battery Metal Frenzy Outshines Recovery Fears at Mining Show; Appetite for copper, battery metals drives talk at PDAC event; 'Lithium' was most searched term at conference, organizers say
Jacob Lorinc and James Attwood - Bloomberg
Tepid global demand for metals driven by recession fears and China's weak economic recovery have done little to shake the belief among miners that battery materials are heading for an epic bull run. That was the sentiment of thousands of executives, investors, government officials and bankers who crammed into a conference center in Toronto for the past four days to showcase their assets, network and strike deals.
/jlne.ws/3J2LXp4
Private company valuations defy fall in listed stocks, adviser says; Hamilton Lane warns venture capital-backed companies face downgrades
Brooke Masters - Financial Times
Fears that private investments are due for a price crash to match the drop in stock markets are overblown, says a prominent manager and adviser for private portfolios. The conclusion from Hamilton Lane, with $832bn in assets under management and supervision, stands in contrast to warnings from JPMorgan and others that valuations of private companies may be too high or are coming down. While listed equities trade daily, private equity holdings are assessed less frequently and their values have not moved down as sharply since early 2022.
/jlne.ws/3T41qd0
A Few Rich Firms Are Fueling Record US Buybacks; Execution of buybacks has been slowing for a year: JPMorgan; Cracks emerging within corporate fundamentals, strategists say
Michael Msika - Bloomberg
US buyback announcements are running at a record pace this year, though more than two-thirds of the $261 billion in commitments are spread across only five companies, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists. Chevron Corp.'s $75 billion leads the way, followed by Meta Platforms Inc. with $40 billion, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. with $30 billion, and Booking Holdings Inc. and Salesforce Inc. with $20 billion each, a team led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas wrote in a note.
/jlne.ws/3l83fZL
Big Oil Gushes Cash Because It Doesn't Know Where to Invest; At an annual gathering in Houston, energy companies talked up an "orderly" transition. But they also seem reluctant to drill more.
Carol Ryan - The Wall Street Journal
Oil-and-gas companies are still trying to figure out where to invest for the energy transition. The resulting hiatus makes for great shareholder returns, but not a long-term strategy. The hot topics at CERAWeek by S&P Global, an annual industry gathering in Houston, are the impact on global energy markets of the Ukraine war and new opportunities from the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act. In a bad sign for the European Union, many executives find the U.S. initiative more appealing, even after Europe sketched the outlines of a rival policy.
/jlne.ws/3YDNQ10
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| Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance | | Stories about environmental, social and governance investing | Pumping Oil Across the Amazon Rainforest Is a Money-Losing Business for Peru; Petroperu can't break even on oil pipeline over Amazon forest; Oil will cross Peru's rainforest via a leaky pipeline
Marcelo Rochabrun - Bloomberg
Peru is moving ahead to pump more oil via a notoriously leaky pipeline that traverses the world's largest rainforest even as it acknowledges it will continue to be a money loser. State-owned oil company Petroleos del Peru, a tiny oil producer worldwide, is seeking to expand production in the Amazon, a biome considered key by scientists to combat climate change but also is home to Peru's reserves.
/jlne.ws/3T1EdrS
Fund of Women-Run Firms Is Beating the S&P 500 Since Launching; Similar socially-targeted funds are showing mixed results; Hypatia ETF's 4.8% rally bests benchmark's 2.4% climb
Peyton Forte - Bloomberg
A new exchange-traded fund is making the case that having women at the top of corporations translates into better returns. The Hypatia Women CEO ETF (ticker WCEO) exclusively invests in companies with a female chief executive officer. So far, that strategy is paying off. Since the fund was introduced nearly two months ago, its 4.8% surge has bested the S&P 500 Index's 2.4% climb in the same period.
/jlne.ws/3JnDMnx
SMIC named among top ESG companies
James A. Loyola - Manila Bulletin
SM Investments Corporation was named among the Top Rated companies globally and in the Asia Pacific in a 2023 Top-Rated ESG Companies list by international ratings firm Morningstar Sustainalytics. In a statement, the firm said it was among the Top rated companies in its industry (Diversified Financial) globally and also among Top Rated companies in the Asia Pacific.
/jlne.ws/3YxAyDq
Women struggle to close corporate America's gender gap;Cultural and societal barriers continue to frustrate efforts to make diversity stick in white-collar fields
Taylor Nicole Rogers and Madison Darbyshire - Financial Times
American corporations held the first diversity sessions in the late 1960s, instructing leaders who were overwhelmingly white and male on how to manage the workplace after the US made it illegal to discriminate against employees based on sex or race. "The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1965 spawned an era of training...in response to the barrage of discrimination suits," a 2008 review of the programmes in the Academy of Management Learning and Education said. Most managers were given "a litany of do's and don'ts and maybe a couple of case studies" during sessions that tended to last roughly four hours, the authors found.
/jlne.ws/3J2tgl5
Climate change is making allergies worse, study shows
Priscilla Totiyapungprasert - El Paso Matters
Climate change could be making everyday life harder for people struggling with allergies and asthma as the pollination season keeps growing, according to new research. After analyzing the change in freeze dates in more than 200 cities, Climate Central researchers found that the pollen seasons are stretching longer in El Paso and other cities because of rising temperatures. The report joins a growing body of research that finds human-caused climate change could impact respiratory health.
/jlne.ws/3J10mC5
US Electric Cars Set Record With Almost 300-Mile Average Range; The average range for an EV in the US has quadrupled since 2011, and is today a third higher than the average globally.
Tom Randall - Bloomberg
American drivers like everything supersized: spacious SUVs, hulking pickup trucks, the wide open road. It only makes sense, now that everything is going electric, that they also demand the world's biggest batteries. The average electric car sold in the US is fast approaching 300 miles between charges, according to a Bloomberg analysis of more than a decade of EV sales. Last year's average range climbed to 291 miles, putting the US average above all other major car markets and a third higher than the global average.
/jlne.ws/3T0WGEQ
Ex-Shell chief Ben van Beurden's pay jumped to £9.7mn last year; Rise of 53% came as oil group's profits hit record $40bn in tumultuous year for energy markets
Tom Wilson - Financial Times
Shell's former chief executive Ben van Beurden received a total pay package of £9.7mn last year, up 53 per cent from 2021, as the oil group delivered a record $40bn in profits. The payout follows a tumultuous year in energy markets driven by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that led to historic earnings for the oil and gas industry as fossil fuel prices soared.
/jlne.ws/3JqTaQY
Increasingly Large and Intense Wildfires Hinder Western Forests' Ability to Regenerate; A new study suggests that reducing forest fire severity in the next few decades could make all the difference for future generations of trees in the West.
Bob Berwyn - Inside Climate News
As global warming threatens the long-term survival of many forests in the Western United States, a new study suggests that reducing the intensity and size of wildfires would help conifers regenerate after the destructive blazes that have become more frequent in recent decades. The team of more than 50 scientists analyzed data from more than 10,000 field plots after 334 wildfires to assess how forests regrow after fires. They also compared the effects of the fires to what's expected from a warming climate.
/jlne.ws/3ZRhMYK
Carmakers Can Kiss Pre-Pandemic Combustion Car Sales Goodbye; It's becoming clearer that vehicles burning gas and diesel are unlikely to ever get back to the level reached in 2017.
Colin McKerracher - Bloomberg
There are growing signs that global auto sales will continue their comeback from the pandemic, chip shortage and other supply chain snarls. As the recovery takes shape, it's becoming clearer that sales of internal combustion vehicles are unlikely to ever return to pre-pandemic levels. Calling peaks is generally a no-win endeavor. The call will either be correct but seem obvious after the fact, or wrong and cause for years of mockery. But with 2022 data now available, BNEF is confident the global market for internal combustion vehicles peaked in 2017 and is now in structural decline.
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Major copper producers unveil plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050
Reuters
A group of the world's biggest copper producers said it aimed to slash direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, in a move that could make the sector more attractive to environmentally-conscious investment funds. With copper demand forecast to double to 50 million tonnes by 2050 from 2020 levels, the International Copper Association's (ICA) roadmap released on Tuesday set a target for members to cut direct and indirect emissions by 30% to 40% by 2030, and by 70% to 80% by 2040, before reaching zero by 2050, it said.
/jlne.ws/3mHc2SQ
ESG Essentials: Landmark UN ocean biodiversity treaty, Biden defending ESG in Congress, Seafood investor engagement
ESG Comms
UN delegates agree on landmark ocean biodiversity treaty
After days of negotiations, a 'significant majority' of UN countries agreed a treaty to protect ocean biodiversity in international waters, an important victory for conservationists and the broader environmental agenda. The treaty's principal achievement is establishing a legal framework for creating Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in international oceans, which will allow for enforcement against overfishing, mining or other activities that threaten biodiversity.
/jlne.ws/3Lfwvst
In California, a Race to Capture the Water Before It Escapes; After years of drought, landowners and state managers rush to collect high storm runoff
Jim Carlton - The Wall Street Journal
Neil McIsaac has something many other dairy farmers here don't: a storm-runoff capture system that can provide backup water for his herd when local reservoirs go dry, as they did last year. Already, he and others involved in the project say it has proven its worth. It has captured 670,000 gallons so far this winter, enough to slake the thirst of his 700 cows for a month, Mr. McIsaac said.
/jlne.ws/3ZPlAtq
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| Banks, Brokers & Managed Funds | | The latest from banks, brokers, hedge funds and managed futures | Top Wall Street Banker Ray McGuire Joins Lazard as President; He'll strengthen client relationships, lure talent, firm says; The new role will reunite McGuire with dealmaker Peter Orszag
Sonali Basak - Bloomberg
Ray McGuire, who spent decades as a top Wall Street investment banker, rising to vice chairman of Citigroup Inc., is joining Lazard Ltd. as the firm's president. McGuire, 66, will start in his role early next month and be based in New York. He'll be responsible for strengthening relationships with senior banking clients and large investing institutions, attracting talent and expanding Lazard's reach around the world.
/jlne.ws/3ZVkkEX
Wagamama's Hedge Fund Spat Is Poised to Escalate; Underwhelming results by the noodle chain's parent are bound to leave activist shareholders pounding the table for changes.
Matthew Brooker - Bloomberg
Waiter! When you've been waiting all night for your food and the staff finally bring you the wrong dish, you're going to complain. If it happens repeatedly and you happen to own the restaurant, you might think about replacing the manager. Full-year results delivered by Wagamama owner Restaurant Group Plc aren't what its second-largest shareholder ordered. The company's spat with Hong Kong-based hedge fund Oasis Management Co. now looks almost certain to escalate.
/jlne.ws/3Fb2o1v
Wall Street's most successful hedge fund just politely told Fed Chair Jay Powell to shut up
Christiaan Hetzner - Fortune
If there was one piece of advice the boss of hedge fund Citadel LLC would give to the Federal Reserve, it would be to stop talking so much. Every time Fed Chair Jay Powell opens his mouth to discuss all the progress the central bank has achieved cooling off last year's red-hot inflation, he may actually just be making his own job harder by confusing investors with different messages.
/jlne.ws/3JpR4kl
Credit Suisse shares drop as annual report delayed following SEC call; Postponement comes as regulator weighs in on 2019 cash flow statements
Owen Walker - Financial Times
Credit Suisse shares hit a new intraday low on Thursday after the bank delayed the publication of its annual report following a call from the US Securities and Exchange Commission the previous evening over cash flow statements dating back to 2019. Shares in the bank fell to SFr2.51 in morning trading, dropping more than 5 per cent after the market opened, having hit a previous record low of SFr2.52 last week.
/jlne.ws/3J0Z4Hf
Fund managers call for pensions rule change to revive UK stock market; Spate of companies fleeing to US highlights 'existential threat' faced by City of London
Emma Dunkley - Financial Times
UK equity fund managers are calling for an overhaul of pension accounting rules to revive investor interest in London-listed shares, as a swath of companies prepares to depart or shun the City for US stock exchanges. Richard Buxton, UK equity fund manager at Jupiter, and David Cumming, head of UK equities at Newton Investment Management, said a two-decade-old rule requiring companies to hold pension deficits on their balance sheets needed to be swiftly removed.
/jlne.ws/3T427D8
Hedge Fund Millennium Will Charge Fees Even When It Loses Money; Annual fees to be the greater of 1% of assets or 20% of gains; Move is part of firm's effort to create a more stable business
Hema Parmar and Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
Izzy Englander's Millennium Management has changed its terms to ensure that clients always pay a minimum fee, even if the hedge fund loses money. They will now pay annual fees of about 1% of assets or 20% of investment gains - whichever is greater, according to a client letter seen by Bloomberg. It's part of an effort to "reflect current industry-standard approaches" adopted by other multi-strategy peers, Millennium said in the Feb. 21 letter. Citadel, for example, has a similar fee structure.
/jlne.ws/3ZB630s
Commerzbank Pressed by ECB to Reduce Risks at Russian Business; Lender among firms that have kept a sizable presence in Russia; Commerzbank cut Russian net exposure by 60% since war started
Steven Arons and Nicholas Comfort - Bloomberg
Commerzbank AG is among banks that have been told by their top supervisor to cut risk related to its business in Russia, where the German lender continues to have a sizable presence. The European Central Bank urged the firm in recent months to set aside more money for potential losses incurred in the country, people familiar with the matter said, asking for anonymity in discussing internal information.
/jlne.ws/3FeukBp
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| Work & Management | | Stories impacting work and more about management ideas, practices and trends. | Stellantis Says Its Remote Work Policy Boosted Ranks of Women in Top Jobs; Letting workers stay home 70% of the time helps retain female employees, carmaker executive says
Ella Ceron and Albertina Torsoli - Bloomberg
Remote and hybrid work options don't just keep workers happy, they also help attract and retain female talent. Stellantis NV's chief human resources and transformation officer Xavier Chereau said in an interview Wednesday that the company's work from home policy has helped the automaker boost the number of women in its ranks, particularly at the top.
/jlne.ws/41WEsZm
Top Mistakes Freelancers Make When Filing Their Taxes; If you don't work a typical 9-to-5 job, there are common errors to avoid to escape an IRS audit.
Claire Ballentine and Jo Constantz - Bloomberg
You can escape a traditional 9-to-5 job, but you can't escape taxes. That's what a new batch of freelance workers and side hustlers are learning now that tax season is underway. While it's never fun or easy to tally up your bill to Uncle Sam, those who are self-employed face a particularly complicated process because there's no company payroll department to compile income figures or withhold taxes.
/jlne.ws/41T8XQ1
Three Years After Covid Hit, Restaurants Are Still Desperate for Workers; More than 60% of establishments said in a recent survey that they're understaffed.
Leslie Patton - Bloomberg
Americans are rushing back to restaurants after staying away during the pandemic. To catch that demand, chains are opening thousands of new locations. It has the makings of a boom, except for one glaring problem: there aren't enough workers. Three years after Covid hit the US, the $900 billion US foodservice industry still can't recruit enough employees. It has boosted pay and benefits, but that hasn't worked. Chains including Jack in the Box Inc. and Domino's Pizza Inc. say the labor woes are hurting business. In a recent survey, more than 60% of establishments said they're understaffed.
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| Wellness Exchange | | An Exchange of Health and Wellness Information | Covid Lab Leak Fight Obscures the Global Rise of High-Security Biolabs
Riley Griffin and Madison Muller - Bloomberg
The number of high-containment labs around the world conducting potentially risky scientific research is surging, despite a lack of global agreement on how to make sure they're safe. There are 69 so-called Biosafety Level 4, or BSL-4, facilities designed to study dangerous infectious pathogens in operation, under construction or planned worldwide, according to Global Biolabs, a tracking project run out of King's College London and George Mason University in Virginia. About a decade ago, there were only 25.
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Chinese City Backs Return of Lockdowns for Severe Flu Outbreaks
Bloomberg News
A Chinese city will use lockdowns and school and business closures as part of its plan to contain influenza outbreaks, sparking concern among citizens about a return to the country's economically-crippling Covid restrictions.
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| Regions | | Stories of local interest from the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions | Chinese soyabean subsidies force buyers to shell out more for peanuts; Groundnut has become the country's best-performing agricultural commodity as drought also hits production
Hudson Lockett and Emiko Terazono - Financial Times
Peanuts have become China best-performing agricultural commodity as dry weather and Beijing's policies have eaten into supplies, raising traders' fears that demand from the world's largest importer of the legume will push up international prices. China suffered a severe drought in key growing areas last year, while the government's agricultural subsidy programme, which favours soyabeans, has led to a sharp drop in the country's peanut acreage.
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Europe experienced second-warmest winter on record
Kate Abnett - Reuters
Europe is emerging from its second-warmest winter on record, European Union scientists said on Wednesday, as climate change continues to intensify. The average temperature in Europe from December to February was 1.4 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average for the Boreal winter season, according to data published by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
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Turkey raises $2.25bn in first bond deal since earthquake; Tens of billions of dollars needed to rebuild homes, hospitals and schools after February disaster
Adam Samson - Financial Times
Turkey has clinched its first international bond deal since last month's earthquake as the government starts a massive effort to rebuild homes, businesses and critical infrastructure that were wrecked in the disaster. The country on Thursday raised $2.25bn in dollar-denominated debt in its first bond deal on foreign markets since January, according to the finance ministry.
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Russia's energy conflict with Europe is turning attritional; Both sides have had to abandon hopes of a swift victory
Sergey Vakulenko - Financial Times
Russia's war against Ukraine has many fronts, not least energy. And as with the Kremlin's plans for a swift victory in Ukraine, both sides in the energy conflict have seen their dreams of rapid triumph collapse amid grinding and attritional trench warfare.
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London Has Become a Better City - for the Rich
Therese Raphael Opinion - Bloomberg
When Covid-19 hit in 2020, many worried that London would bear ugly pandemic scars for a long time to come. A 2021 report from the London School of Economics set out five potential scenarios for what the future might hold. If things went pear-shaped, it warned the city could experience "significant affluent household flight," near-zero international immigration and rising emigration as jobs left. Worsening public services would aggravate high levels of deprivation, leaving a state of gradual decline, reminiscent of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
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| Miscellaneous | | Stories that don't quite fit under the other sections | You don't restore trust in the media by abandoning objectivity; In the current political climate we need to double down on fundamental journalistic principles, not surrender them
Jemima Kelly - Financial Times
The argument over whether journalist Isabel Oakeshott was right to leak more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages given to her for the purposes of ghostwriting a memoir by the former health secretary and Tory MP Matt Hancock is, ostensibly, about the ethics of journalism.
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Instagram Founder Says the Time Has Come for a New Social Network; Kevin Systrom is betting that technological shifts and discontent with current offerings give his news app, Artifact, an opening.
Kurt Wagner - Bloomberg
When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger created the app that would become Instagram, they rode the wave of a major technological shift by building a simple utility. The iPhone had led to the rapid rise of smartphone photography, so the duo made an app that offered free software filters to improve the way those snapshots looked. The social networking features that would turn Instagram into one of the most successful consumer products of all time came later. "Instagram to a lot of people was a filter app first and a social network second," Systrom says. "It's pretty clear to me that the best social networks usually start as a utility doing something else and kind of grow into a social network over time."
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